New Jersey to Vote on Strictest Anti-Bullying Law in the Country

by Alison Leithner · 2010-10-27 07:14:00 UTC
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Victory! On Jan. 6, 2011, Governor Chris Christie signed the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights into law. This tough piece of legislation has been heralded by activists as the strongest anti-bullying law in the country. New Jersey LGBT rights group Garden State Equality tirelessly advocated for this law. Among the many voices calling for this new, stronger legislation were the 833 Change.org members who signed our petition to Gov. Christie, urging him to sign the bill.

New Jersey is revisiting its anti-bullying laws in the hopes of making them the strongest in the country. Currently, New Jersey’s law “encourages” anti-bullying classes. The new law would make them mandatory in K-12 and change language in the college codes to ensure bullying on campus could be properly punished. It’s about time.

Do an Internet search for “teen suicide and bullying”. The results are appalling.  Names like Phoebe Prince, Justin Aaberg and, most recently, Tyler Clementi come up. All were teenagers.  All were bullied.  All killed themselves. These students were mentally, and sometimes physically, abused and felt they had nowhere to turn.  If stronger laws were in place and there were more visible places for bullied kids to turn, there is a good chance they would still be alive today.

Bullying is something everyone knows happens in schools and, many think, is a rite of passage.  It’s not. It’s merely a way for insecure kids (the bullies) to make themselves feel better by picking on weaker kids about things they can’t change: their looks, their weight, their sexual orientation. The kids who are bullied carry these scars with them forever. However short that forever might be.

Legislators should stop focusing on winning votes and start competing to hold the top prize of “best protectors for those who cannot protect themselves”.  They should compete to have the strictest bullying laws in the nation. To date, Massachusetts holds this honor. New Jersey, if they pass their new “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights” will steal the trophy. Let’s encourage our representatives to participate in this competition to see which state can best stand up for its residents.

We need to protect kids who are bullied and this protection needs to come from the top and the bottom. Tell your local governments to support anti-bullying legislation in the names of the thousands of kids who are bullied each day, and sign the Change.org petition telling New Jersey to pass the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights.

Photo Credit: db photographs

Alison Leithner got her M.A. at American University and teaches English as a Second Language to adults and university students.

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Tell New Jersey: Pass The Anti-Bullying Bill Of Rights
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